Thursday, January 19, 2006

In an effort to educate our readers on some of the college football traditions they might not be familiar with at other schools around the country, this is the first in an occasional series.

Today's school: Auburn University

Like many college football fans across the country, we at the M Zone have always been a little confused about just what the mascot/nickname at Auburn University really is: the Tiger or the War Eagle.

And raising the question must be a sore subject because, on Auburn's official website, they devote an entire page to the explanation. Apparently their nickname is the Tigers while "War Eagle!" (and never "War Eagles!" with an "s," another testy issue) is their battle cry. Like that one friend who always corrects you by saying his name is "Michael" not "Mike," this must be a huge problem judging from the tone of the page (and don't even ask about "Plainsmen," yet another sometime Auburn nickname from long ago).

Luckily, Auburn officials clear it all up, summing up their mascot situation this way: "It may be confusing to an outsider, but to Auburn people, it is very simple. That's why War Eagle VI, Auburn's golden eagle symbol, is named Tiger!"

Uh...ok.

That's where we come in.

In an effort to make things easier for college football fans everywhere (and save a page on the Auburn University website), we here at the M Zone have come up with a simple solution that should please everybody: combine the two mascots. Duh.

That's why we're proud to present below the first rough looks at the new - say it with me - Auburn War Tig...eag...er!

Followed by, "Go Plainsmen!," the new battle cry.

See, that's what we do here at the M Zone, folks - we give.

UPDATE: First of all, thanks to both Alabama and Auburn fans for all your comments. We had no idea how much bad blood you guys had for each other. Truly impressive. As such, we have put up a post about a "BCS" match-up between the two schools.

243 comments:

Let me give you my experience. I grew up in GA. Went to undergrad at GA. Went to grad school at uab. Worked in B'ham for 10 years. Now I work in LA(that is where the main office is. I still travel to the southeast about 6 times a year)

When i say worse, i dont mean in behavior. I do think that award goes to lsu. i mean as far as not being open minded. basically following your team blindly.

i would agree that in the "whole" aspect of programs alabama has been better. probably not top 10, but top 5 all time. but as for the last 20-25 years, i believe that auburn has had the upper hand on bama hands down.

the main problem i have with bama fans is that you cant mention anything to them about football w/o them bringing up the past(distant past). i was in b'ham over christmas(for about 2.5 weeks) and i had a chance to hear some of your local radio shows. most(prob. 85-90%) of the bama fans were calling in and saying that it didnt matter that auburn had beat them the last 4 years, they are the better program now because of what they had done in the past.

also im not defending auburn for the sake of defending auburn. i also defend the bear when auburn fans make fun of him for being a drunk and cheating. i defend tn when bama fans get mad at them for turning them in to the ncaa. i just defend what i believe in.

but if you took all the names off of the sec schools and had to pick a program to have, i think all the sec schools with probably the exception of fla and lsu would want to be the auburn program. they seem to do things the right way, and appear to be reloading every year now.

but with that said, if you had to choose the whole history of the school, i think most people would choose alabama.

me, id probably go with ga for both. because im just a foolish bulldog fan.

Go easy on the 'Bamers guys. They can't cheat in recruiting any more so they can win like they used to. They can't cheat on their wives any more with out ESPN knowing it so they can't hump like they used to. Life is so unfair.

Call me a Plainsman Tiger, or an Auburn Eagle or even a Tieagle, please just don't call me a 'Bamer.

Auburn fans have no room to point at other programs when it comes to cheating. Auburn leads the SEC dishonor roll with seven NCAA major infractions cases, which is just one shy of the national record set by SMU. Salute!

To bamagrad1985 - your "12" NC are suspect. I have read several of these messages and the talk of Auburn's fake 2004 NC, well, bama had been doing this for years but is so obnoxious about it that everyone takes it for granted. Several of the NC's that bama claims are calculated because they did not even give out a championship or they were given out by a less than stellar authority. 1941 - Football Thesaurus picked bama but Minnesota was the AP choice. Most of the other nc were shared with 1 or more teams. So don't pull this crap about Auburn having a shared nc in 1957,that is what most of yours are. If Auburn wanted to be like bama, they would dig up the obscure polls to claim more nc's so we could live in the past. We could find one for several of our years so don't get too caught up in the publicity. I do know that the tide has changed and the tiders are not as dominant as they use to be. I believe they are going to change to name of that stadium to Jordan-Hare West since we own it. And one more thing, I read the acronym on an earlier blog about Auburn and here is one in responseAlwaysLosesAtBryant-DennyAgainstMightyAuburn

Yost, thanks for letting us crash your site. I bet you had no idea you were opening pandora's box when you posted the pics (funny by the way!). Just a couple of notes to the bamanecks.

1. Bear Bryant is dead (just thought you should know). Oh and he wasn't 2. A fan base that has a median IQ of 43 is nothing to be proud of.3. Losing to Florida in the race for Tim Tebow does not automatically make Sarah Jessica Parker Wilson. You thought he was terrible when it looked like Tebow was coming your way, and guess what, you were right. 4. You have beat Auburn once in this century. Your team is not as good as Auburn. It's a fact. Live with it and try to do something about it. And no, watching highlights of the 1992 championship game does not constitute doinging something.

Found this article interesting. Thought you guys may as well. Look where Auburn and USC finished in 04.

I was born in Alabama (declared bammer at birth), graduated from Iowa State and now live in the aforementioned "Blue Archipelago of Urban Atlanta"!

Roll Tide!

In 1994, my poor Cyclones were suffering through a miserable (0.10.1) season - with Troy Davis ON THE BENCH!...That's another story entirely...LOL.

Roll Tide!

So, a friend of mine from ISU and I decided to go to Alabama for the weekend and attend the Auburn-Kentucky game on Thursday night and the Alabama-Georgia game on Saturday Night to see some GOOD football. Both Alabama and Auburn were undefeated and would remain so until the Tide beat the barners 21-14 later in the year!

Roll Tide!

As we approached Auburn, I told my buddy that all Auburn fans talk about is the 1972 "Punt, 'Bama, Punt" game - when Auburn upset #02 Alabama 17-16 after blocking and returning two punts for TDs late in the 4th quarter after being dominated all day.

Roll Tide!

Well, we walked into one of the Auburn bookstores, and they were playing the "Punt, 'Bama, Punt" game over the loud speaker!

He has been an Alabama fan ever since!

LOL.

Roll Tide and Go Blue!

May the Tide and Wolverines hook up in another classic game sooner than later.

Alright guys let's just throw some reasonable explinations out there to clear up any confusion there may be about Auburn. As a student familiar with the history of Auburn, I'll do my best to fill in the gaps. The chant "War Eagle" has several rumored origins, but the most commonly accepted story involves an eagle during the Civil War era that was rescued by an Auburn student. The eagle was brought to an Auburn game against Georgia. The Auburn offense was moving the ball down field during the last minutes of the fourth quarter when the eagle broke loose and began to fly around the field causing the fans to cheer louder and louder. The eagle continued to fly until the Auburn offense scored, and its believed that the eagle fell from the sky from exhaustion (it was being nursed back to health at the time)not shot by the many "rednecks" said to attend Auburn or Georgia for that matter, and fell to the ground. The "War Eagle" battle cry symbolizes the Auburn spirit that occurs every single game we play at home. Before kickoff, we fly an eagle around the stadium and it lands in the center of the stadium as the crowd does the prolonged "War Eagle".

As for the mascot, we have our six time national champion Aubie. He is our Auburn Tiger. We are the Auburn Tigers.

As for the Plainsman, Auburn is known for being very flat, so they have proudly refered to it as "the plains". And the "Plainsmen" are now the official hosts of Auburn University accompanied by the "War Eagle Girls" in order to continue with the theme of spirit.

I hope this clears up any confusion. I'm looking forward to the Fall as my Auburn Tigers look to take on the hardest conference in the country.

Ill give alittle perspective of the south...as a former yankee and PSU grad.I now live in Mississippi...and CFB is way different. They dont care about Pro teams. As an infant(in Mississippi) you are either a Rebel or a Bulldog... no middle ground.The same goes for Alabama and Auburn. The best thing about the south is the women though. 37 going on 38 and dating a 23 yr old...and not one comment about 'your daughter?'

Great place to live.

I have been to Ole Miss,LSU, Bama, and Auburn for games....while no where as big as PSU, the Shoe or the House...the venom is much stronger.

The only real stats that are worth mentioning here are the all-time head to head. And that my friend narrows it down to only a few upper tier programs who can even lay claim to having an edge on BAMA. NOTE: UPPER TIER PROGRAMS.

Unless, you have that rare symptom found only in hollywood in "50 Dates" or something like that, the one that "ten second tom" has, I believe this same disease has decimated an entire portion of s.e.alabama, I also believe they call the area the plains or something of that nature. Those who have this disease aren't quite as bad off as ten second tom, their memories do span a few years. But nonetheless, it is spreading like wildfire.

It is so sad to even contemplate at the thought that in a few years these poor fans will forget all about their peoples championship year, the wonderful dusty hayride parade, as well as the school administration ordering their fans to bring their own toilet paper to the party.

Imagine the horror while they are "thumbing" for a ride on the first wagon that's heading into town, there will be an abundance of t-shirts stating "fear the thumb", and again they will not know why, but hitchhiking will dramatically drop within this geographical area, as those who are unfortunate to own a wagon or a tractor will be in great need of shoes as well as other amenities they will soon forget what their uses are for.

So please, if you have a kind spot in your heart, do something, anything for these poor fans, even if it is to ship some toilet paper to these needy people. They will be roaming mindlessly throughout this area, and the danger of spreading it to others is very real.

Today there is no known cure for this disease, only toilet tissue can treat the symptoms, it does not cure however.

It is stated that the best way to contain them at this time is by performing the ritual of Rolling Trees with tissue, for some uncanny reason they will not stray far from these areas. It seems that this is the only natural instinct they have, to congregate under rolled trees.

There is one idea that may help in the fight to keep this disease from spreading, and that is to contact the state representatives and petition them, as well as the state college board to allow this act of rolling trees to offically become their "TRADITION".

This act has some possibilities since they have no tradition at all. Please do what you can to help these needy individuals before it sweeps throughout the region with it's memory erasing effects.

If you can help, please contact your local chapter of "The Center of Auburn Derelicts".

TCAD

CIAO

PS (Some symptoms are noises that seem to be weagle! weagle!, if you hear these noises, immediately cover your ears, and contact the center right away. It is also a good idea to always keep a pair of ear plugs handy or some other ear protection).

This disease started some four years ago. They have completely lost all memory of what happened in years prior to this.

they should change the name to Lowder University since he has essentially bought Auburn and most of its players according to former coach Terry Bowden. Who cares what they call themselves? I don't and I bet not too many other people do either.

You should have delved into the plains/ jungle idiocy as well. Auburn is called "the loveliest village on the plains" but Tommy Tubberville gave their stadium the nickname of "the jungle." I guess one bout of schizophrenia wasn't enough.

Funny that the bammers are making fun of Auburn's cheer. Let's break down the Bammer cheer (noting that NOTHING therein rhymes with "bama"...only bammer)

Rammer Jammer Yellow HammerGive 'em hell Alabammer

Rammer (an act performed in Tuscaloosa on farm animals and cousins who have passed out)

Jammer (see above)

Yellow (the universal color of cowardice) Hammer (the tool with which the highly skilled bammers suppliment their SSDI payments under the table)

Give 'em Hell Alabammer (might as well give hell...a little slice of Tuscalooser, because bammer won't give pass protection, a pocket for Brodie to stand in, or an Offense capable of scoring 21 points in a game.

Heaven for bid if you come across a school that enjoys heritage and history! It hasn't suffered an identity crisis, it has just picked up identity along its 200yr journey. I enjoy the stories and it is fun to tell when I have someone stop me and pull the punchline about how many mascots do you have?

With that said, I 100% agree with the "Weagle" thing.. I never partook in that one, it is dumb just like "Yeller Hammer" we should both agree to sideline those pathetic attempts as cheers. I would rather spend the time saying hello to those near me at the game than waste my breath on that.

This old Auburn boy resides right here in A2. Let me remind you how refined and "high flutin'" you are up here. I remember this every time I have to commute on one of the hundreds of dirt roads in the city and then get on a hacked up piece of asphalt, you call a road, that has shaken the dashboard off of my car as I drive past trailer parks less than two miles from the Briarwood Mall. There are no smiles or pleasantries to be found from my free thinking, tree-hugging, liberal friends. Good luck trying to sell makeup or a comb in the most overweight, slovenly state in the US (they actually were running a public service campaign about obesity that said to get you kids off of the Nintendo and go outside so MI will not be the fattest state anymore.) After they finish that campaign hopefully they will start one about men cutting off their mullets and women to learn there is another hairstyle other than "helmet hair." Oh, I digress, but I just wanted to respond to all the goat loving, incest, trailer living comments that were fired southbound in previous posts. This place, Ann Arbor, is a bad as any far reaching hole that I have been to, but just swap the Democrats and the Liberals with more paved roads in AL.

FWIW, how about you just agree to stay up here than go South of the MI border. I promise you all the things you have heard are true in the South. If you don't belive me ask your buddies thatgot sent to work at Saturn, just plain scary! So just stay up here and keep supporting those Cats, I mean Wolverines.

Back to football, I laughed out loud when I saw Tommy accept the Eufaula National Champs trophy. It was a joke people! Tubby was very upset about the lack of recognition given to the undefeated season, so they poked a little humor! I laughed at least if you didn't!

Ok, since this is a Michigan site lets comment on what really matters, Michigan-ND. Michigan, you are a great opponent but this year will be ours. No body cares about rednecks from Alabama or Auburn. All that matters is that the Fighting Irish will roll over the wolves again this year on their way to the National Championship! Brady Quinn for heisman!

Ok, I still don't get the buckeye thing. A poisonous nut? Was that meant to be intimidating? Do you feed the opposing teams these nuts? Do you sprinkle these nuts like Flounder did and hope the opposing team trips on them? I don't get it..

While on the subject of crazy and/or stupid mascots and battle cries. How about the University of Alabama? What does Roll Tide and an elephant have in common? And by the way, what does the moon and the Auburn Tigers have in common? They both control the Tide...WAR DAMN EAGLE!!!!

I don't think anyone who is a fan of SEC football owes anyone from the Big 10 an explanation about their mascots or anything else.

With that said, people who love Auburn understand perfectly well what all these things mean, why they are individually special, and most importantly, why all you Yankees and wanna-be Tigers don't get it -- I can't blame you for being jealous.

So, War Eagle from a Tiger who loves the Plainsman and can't wait to see Spirit soar again!

Atlanta is the crappiest place on earth.high crime rate, Democrats keeping everybody poor, the smarrtest person that area has ever produced is Jeff Francouer, more dumb hoods per square mile than New Orleans....which is amazing by the way....

I'm the newest anonymous commentator...just want to keep this incredibly long trail alive. Oh, yeah, I'm an Ohio State fan too. But unlike others, I do not hate Michigan. I lived there for five years and have many Wolverine friends. Yeah, yeah...the rivalry. But hey, we've both brought glory back to the Big Ten where it belongs...and we ARE the best two teams in the country!!! I hope Michigan destroys LSU or whoever they face in the Rose Bowl. Go Wolver-Bucks!!!!

that second photo made me laugh until i started retching! i'm a current AU student and lifelong resident of the state; love both AU and UA football. people down here need to lighten up; amazing how quick to anger SEC football fans can be. how can you NOT laugh at this shit? especially if you ARE from AU?

this is why photoshop is an essential skill in the modern world, this right here. wtg, guys! that pissed tigerbird...can't get it out of my head.

You really didn't think that SOS was going to go to uat did you? At this point and time it looks like everyone is going to turn you all down. You are going to get Rodriguez who of course all of you morons will say was your first choice the whole time anyway. It is just so fun to sit and laugh at how pathetic you uat fans really are.

alright, bitches, let's keep the comments going for a whole year. that's a long time, but not nearly as long as it's been since bammer has beaten auburn, and probably the same amount of time any of these goofy mods have had physical contact with a female (sorry guys, it had to be leaked, just don't squeal like pigs, that shit is sick, don't want to attract bammers)

since you blue fans seem to be so big on tradition and all that shit in the past, just remember don't be hatin' cause ohio state has no real claim in the 1957 national title cause auburn took the ap poll, the only poll that is still worth anything. rub that in their face that they don't have as many titles as they claim.WAR DAMN EAGLE!

Only the grade school of U of M and the uh 'M' Zone sniffers can't figure out a mascot thing! Trust me here I lived in Milford Mi just north of Ann Arbor and when talking to the uh 'smart; crowd about the only thing they liked was 'smoke' as the kinnd u smoke and 'Lennin and Stalin' ! So is it any wonder they dont't get 'mascots'!

It's knowing that Notre Dame takes pride in saying "well, at least we're not as bad as Alabama".

It's bragging about playing your arch rival close but losing with your third string QB, third string FB, and third string RB when just 2 years prior your arch rival beat you with their second string QB, fourth string FB, and fourth string RB on your own field.

It's "forgetting" how to pronounce "TSDTR" and forgetting to show up to the game to back it up.

It's running off the last coach that won you a National Championship.

It's having a head coach realize that the ugliest stripper in Pensacola was prettier than the Alabama coaching job.

It's running off your backup QB by playing him with a concussion.

It's having a losing record since January 1st 2000.

It's having a football field that is as wilted as the football team.

It's tarnishing the legend of your greatest coach by playing an incoherant drunken sound-clip at the beginning of each football game.

It's being the fourth best football team in your state.

It's refusing to play those teams unless mandated by the state government.

Alabama fans love to brag about 12 national championships. Most national championships in football are so biased and ludicrous than most anyone could find a way to claim one. But Bama has taken claiming national titles to a new level. It is some kind of innate lack of self esteem that they are born with in T-town. Winning is everything. They'll do anything to win as proven over the past two years. Their entire history is based on cheating and delusional dreams of grandeur. They are very similar to Blanche Dubois in "A Streetcar Named Desire." Blanche was a washed-up Southern Belle who lived in a fantasy world of delusions. She thought that she was still the belle of the ball. Bama is very similar. Although rich in tradition, Bama stretches it enough to make themselves believe it.

Alabama claims 12 national titles...>Let's give them a closer examination.....

1925 National Championship- Alabama claims they share this one with Dartmouth. Who awarded the NC? Houlgate and Helms. Houlgate started his system in 1927. So Bama won their 1925 NC using a formula that didn't exist until 1927? Helms Athletic Foundation started in 1941. Another incredible retroactive NC.

The Associated Press Poll has been active since 1936. The AP took their final poll prior to bowl games from 1936 - 1964 and in 1966 and 1967. They took their final poll after the bowl games in 1965 and from 1968 - Current.

1926 National Championship- Alabama claims they share this one with 3 other teams with equal or better records! Once again it is the Helms Athletic Foundation in 1941 that awards it!

1930 National Championship- The Davis poll says that Bama tied Notre Dame for NC this year. This was the only one to award it to Bama. Notre Dame was named NC in 6 polls! Parke Davis is another retroactive system! He (an individual, not an organization) did his in 1933!

1934 National Championship- Alabama says they share this with two other teams. The awarders are Dunkel, Williamson, and Football Thesaurus. Dunkel was an individual who came up with his own system. Williamson was a geologist who came up with his own system. Football Thesaurus first appeared in 1946!

1941 National Championship- This is a complete joke. The AP ranked Alabama 20th in the nation with 14 teams with better records in the top 20. Once again it is the Football Thesaurus that retroactively awards it. Alabama finished 3rd in the SEC that year. Mississippi State won the SEC title..yet Bama claims a National title!

1961 National Championship- Finally a legitimate NC. .

1964 National Championship- While the AP did award the NC to Bama (10-1-0), Arkansas had the better record, 11-0. Alabama played Texas in their bowl and LOST. The AP final poll was before the bowl.

1965 National Championship- The AP gave this to Bama. That year there were three teams with better records than Bama. Bama 9-1-1, Michigan St 10-1-0, Arkansas 10-1-0, Nebraska 10-1-0.

1973 National Championship- AP puts Bama 4th after their bowl game loss. Bama claims a NC from the UPI poll that was taken before they met Notre Dame in the bowl game and lost. There were 3 teams with better records than Bama that year. The embarrassment of naming Alabama number one caused the UPI to name champions after bowl games. Yet Bammer has no shame in claiming it of course.

1978 National Championship- AP gives this to Alabama(11-1-0) even though USC (12-1-0) had the better record Guess who Alabama lost to that year? USC!!!!!!!!!. UPI gave the NC to USC.

1979 National Championship- Their second legitimate NC. Their first Unanimous NC.

1992 National Championship- Their third legitimate NC. Their second Unanimous NC,

.You can see why people ridicule Bama fans when they talk about 12 NCs. The early ones were awarded by individuals years after the games were played. These weren't consensus polls but NCs awarded by people that had their own formula for determining champions. Some NCs where given before bowl games that Bama lost. Using Alabama logic, Auburn could claim four national championships. But when Bammers brag they like to say they have twelve and Auburn has one. How silly. The NCAA recognizes 6 NCs for Bama and there are only two NCs that Bama has unanimously. You can't find an Auburn site claiming four national championships but there are plenty Bama sites claiming twelve.Debunking the Alabama National Championship myths.

At the same time, Auburn could claim at 5 national titles using the Bammer methods.

1913- Auburn went 8-0 and claimed the NC in the Billingsley Poll.

1957-AP national Champions.

1983-Auburn went 11-1, played the nation's toughest schedule, and won the national title in The New York Times, Sagarin, Billingsley, Rothman and College Football Researchers Association

1993-Auburn went 11-0 and won the national title by the National Championship Foundation .

2004- Auburn became only the second team in SEC history to go 13-0. Auburn even beat SEC East champion Tennessee twice. Auburn was awarded the national title by the first People's National Championship Poll, Golf Digest, and The Eufaula Times.

We actually are listed with 17 NCs by the official NCAA.org website (listed below) but we only claim 12 just like auburn is listed with 4 but because of being on probation for all of them, they only cam claim 1(although on probation then too). Check out the league's history at www.footballencyclopedia.com and it also has cool stuff about all conferences. Thes site http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/ia_football_past_champs.html

IT IS A TRADITION! if you don't understand another school and their traditions then focus on your own school and find something better to do with your time. As an Auburn fan, the eagle is a tradition that I enjoy, and I like the chant. I grew up in northern Ohio with family that worships Ohio State and sister that attended U of M, so been there, done that. You have your traditions, we have ours, and Alabama has theirs and it's their own dang business.

Second rate institutions always feel they do not get the respect they deserve, hence, the nickname issue.

Auburn is a land grant college and thus has been around for a long time. At one time they have embraced a number of nicknames. My favorite is The Goats. Others include Farmers, Plainsmen, War Eagle, and Tigers.

Don't be so sensitive Goats, win the National Championship and you too can feel good about yourself.

Ps. I'm a SEC fan and not a fan of any one team. I root for the team that can bring honor and fame to the conference--Go Tigers!

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